Detention with Draco
by Regina93
Summary: Harry receives detention from Umbridge and finds sympathy, and maybe something more, in the last person he would have expected. Please Review. Harry//Draco also some Dean//Seamus
1. Chapter 1

First time I've published my work on fanfiction. I write somewhere else, and it's really different, so I don't know whether or not I'm good at writing like this. Also first time I've tried a male/male relationship. Please be nice to me.

Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

The great hall doors slammed open and everyone looked up at the latecomer. He ducked his head and hurried to the Gryffindor table and sat between his best friends. Accustomed to his late arrivals by now, most of the hall had already gone back to their breakfast. "Forget to do your Charms paper?" Ron asked his best friend, piling sausages onto the plate.

"Just needed a foot more" Harry answered before stuffing his face.

"Well if you wouldn't spend all your time playing Wizard Chess.." Hermione began, but was cut off my Ron's groan and Harry rolling his eyes. "Well, I'm not going to let you copy." She crossed her arms.

Harry glanced at Ron, but looked away quickly to prevent himself from laughing. Ron then turned to drape his arm over Hermione's shoulders. "C'mon Hermione. We'd fail without you to help us. Just because we're bottom of the class doesn't mean we don't try" Harry rolled his eyes as Hermione's lips curled up at the praise. "We've got DADA first Harry" Ron suddenly said.

Harry groaned. "Just what I need first thing in the morning. That stupid toad" He glanced up at the staff table and saw Umbridge sitting in her chair like it was a throne. "You free tomorrow night?" He added under his breath, still glaring at the professor.

"We having another meeting?" Ron asked as Hermione turned back to them, all her annoyance slipping away. "I put hermione in a full body bind last time"

That annoyed Hermione. "Luna had just set Neville on fire, Ron! I wasn't watching you" Harry chuckled as they continued bickering. He looked at the Slytherin table and his gaze was grabbed by the gray eyes that had never left him since he walked in. His heart sped up, scaring him. Then the eyes looked away and Harry found himself able to move again, as if a spell had lifted.

"Harry?" Ron asked, shaking his arm. "DADA in 5 minutes. We're going to be late unless we run" Harry looked up, startled. He had thought there was 20 minutes left. Had he really been staring for that long? He followed Ron and Hermione to the classroom, trying to understand what had happened to him.

"Hey, Harry? Is there going to be another meeting soon? It's been weeks" Dean Thomas muttered as he entered the classroom.

"Tomorrow night" Harry whispered back. "Tell Seamus. And everyone" Dean nodded and then went to sit next to Seamus. Harry saw him lean toward the boy and whisper in his ear. He looked away, but not before he had seen Dean kiss his boyfriend's cheek. Dean and Seamus had announced that they were dating a few months ago, and the majority of the school had reacted negatively to them. Harry had been one of the few that had stood by the couple from the beginning.

"Mr. Potter!" Umbridge's voice snapped Harry back to reality. His head jerked up from the parchment he had been doodling idly on and he looked up at his professor. "Perhaps you would like to enlighten the class on how to perform a patronus. I know you have a fondness for casting them" Her sickly sweet smile reminded Harry of the dementors he had saved his cousin from the past summer.

"Yes, ma'am" He said, smiling because most of the class was in the DA, so they already knew how to cast patronuses. "You have to think of a happy memory" He began, pulling his wand out of his bag. "The happiest memory you can think of and allow it to fill you up" He cast his mind back to the lessons he had received from Lupin to remind himself how to explain it. "Then you saw the incantation _expecto patronum_" He turned his back on Umbridge and quickly searched for a happy memory. He pointed his wand at the wall and repeated the incantation again. A giant silver stag burst from his wand and cantered once around the room before vanishing.

"Thats quiet enough Mr. Potter" Umbridge snapped, clearly angry he had dared cast a spell in her classroom. "Detention for the rest of the week. You will clean each trophy in the trophy room. No magic. Show up 8 o'clock this evening for your first one." Her mouth was stretched in another smile that made Harry want to turn his wand on her. But he stuffed it back in his bag and sat down, stepping on Ron's foot as he did so.

"Don't you get in trouble too. You know she'd just love to land the whole lot of us in detentions" Harry mumbled. He dug in his pocket for the galleon that Hermione had charmed. He wanted to tell the rest of the DA about the meeting. It would start at 6, a half hour after dinner. He planned on telling them to keep going even after he left because they were all progressing so much.

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"Potter?" Harry dropped the rag he was scrubbing the largest trophy with when he heard that voice. What is he doing here?

"What are you doing here?" Harry said, grabbing the rag and pretending that he didn't care. He watched Malfoy out of the corner of his eye just in case he tried a curse.

"Got detention from the toad" He replied, dragging his cleaning supplies to a different trophy. "You too?" He asked casually, beginning to clean the trophy only 3 away from Harry.

"What did she give you detention for? She loves the Slytherins" Harry asked, still watching the other boy. He cursed himself and turned back to his trophy as Malfoy caught him staring.

"She seems to have a problem with casting spells" He answered, shrugging. Silence fell between them as they cleaned. About and hour later, Umbridge walked in, her heels clicking annoyingly on the hard floor.

"You may leave tonight, boys. Come back again tomorrow. You need to learn your lessons" She informed them in her girlish voice that made Harry clench his fist. He and Malfoy dropped their rags into their buckets and left.

"What did she get you for?" Malfoy asked as they put the cleaning supplies into the closet.

"Same" Harry replied, wiping his hands on his robes. "She tried catching me off guard and told me to teach the class how to cast patronuses. So I told them, and cast one. Waste of time really, most of them already kn--" He stopped himself and mentally kicked himself. He had nearly told the blonde about the DA. What was wrong with him?

"How do so many kids already know how to cast patronuses?" Malfoy asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

Maybe, Harry thought, he doesn't know how. I could tell him. But why should I help him? He's the enemy. "Gryffindor. You know" Harry answered, shrugging. Malfoy seemed to get more annoyed at that and stalked off, muttering what Harry thought sounded like 'Damn boy.' Harry walked up the staircases to the Gryffindor common room, still going over the detention in his head. Had he really just had a civil conversation with Malfoy? And what did the Slytherin care how the kids learned how to do patronuses? Why had Harry almost told him?

"Harry! I thought Umbridge was going to keep you there all night. You still have the potions essay to write" Hermione was waiting at the table, scribbling furiously on her own parchment.

"Oh yeah" Harry said, only just remembering. "How long did he say?"

"3 feet" Hermione answered, conjuring a measuring tape. "I'm a foot and a half over. Will he mind do you think?" She asked nervously.

"Probably, considering it's Snape" Harry replied. "You better cut it short so he doesn't use it as an excuse to take points off us again. You know how he hates anyone not in his house" He threw himself into the chair next to her and glanced at her parchment. Her writing was so tiny, he could barely read it. "How do you write so much?" He asked as she waved her wand, causing the bottom part of it to rip itself neatly off.

"Oh, you know. I read and research it" She replied, rubbing her eyes. Harry looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight. "Do you want this? It's so late" She handed the parchment she had torn off her own essay.

"Really?" Harry asked, taking it. "Thanks a load Hermione" She smiled at him and rubbed her eyes again. "You better get some sleep" He told her as she ran her fingers through her hair, causing half of it to stand on end.

"Good idea" She yawned. "Good luck with the essay Harry" She stumbled up her stairs and left Harry alone. He deciphered her handwriting and copied it onto a new parchment. In the end, he only needed what she had done. Harry rolled up the essay and stared at the dying fire. What could it be that had made Harry feel so relaxed earlier? He had almost told Malfoy about the DA. A Slytherin. His enemy! But he couldn't help it. He just felt calm and relaxed around the boy. Which made no sense. He could easily catch Harry off guard if he was distracted by... by what though?

_Maybe his silver/blonde hair falling so delicately around his face._ A voice in the back of Harry's head said. _Or maybe the way his cleaning robes had fit his form and showed Harry the muscles hiding behind his everyday robes._

Harry shook his head. He was going crazy. He couldn't think that way about Malfoy. He was a Slytherin. He began drifting as he sat in the comfiest couch in front of the fire. His imagination went back to when he had been taking his cleaning supplies back. Except this time Harry and Malfoy didn't talk, they closed the door and Harry leaned closer to the boy in front of him. His whole body buzzing with anticipation. He sat straight up in the chair in front of the fire. 'Oh god' He thought. 'Im in love with Draco Malfoy'


	2. Chapter 2

First time I've published my work on fanfiction. I write somewhere else, and it's really different, so I don't know whether or not I'm good at writing like this. Also first time I've tried a male/male relationship. Please be nice to me.

Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

"That's great Neville!" Harry encouraged as Luna fell backwards, having just been stunned by Neville. "You're really improving!" He told him, clapping him on the back before reviving Luna for him.

"Thanks Harry" Neville said, beaming. He had been working on stunning for the last 3 meetings. Most other pairs were learning shield charms, but Luna didn't seem to mind staying behind with Neville. Ginny had asked Harry if she could switch to a different pair after being paired with Neville for 5 meetings. He had paired her up with Jayme Hunter, a Ravenclaw in Ginny's year.

"That was really good Neville." Luna told him, smiling at him. "You want to try it again?" She rearranged the pillows behind her.

"Okay" Neville said, screwing his face up in concentration. Harry walked away to observe the rest of the students.

He walked around the room once before noticing Dean and Seamus. It was Seamus's turn to cast the shield charm, but Dean seemed reluctant to curse his boyfriend. Harry had assumed it would be a problem letting them be paired up. "Come on Dean!" Seamus teased. "You don't actually think you can get past my shield charm, do you?" Dean growled out the jelly legs spell and Seamus started laughing as he wobbled around. dean tried 4 times before getting the spell to correct it right. By the time he did, he was getting flustered. "Don't worry about it Dean! That was a great hex" Seamus said, puling Dean over to kiss him.

Dean looked reassured as Seamus walked back to his spot. "My turn now" He said, raising his wand in anticipation of Seamus's jinx. Harry continued walking, thinking about the pair of them. They were happy despite the mutterings that followed them around the school. Whenever they walked down the hall holding hands, or were caught kissing in a hallway, there was always the kids that jeered at them. Harry wondered how they managed to ignore it all. Then he looked at his watch and cursed quietly before walking to the front of the room and blowing his whistle.

"Okay. I've got my detention from Umbridge now, but I'm going to have Ron and Hermione take over for me for whoever wants to keep practicing. You're all really improving, but don't stay longer than curfew. Umbridge would love to catch us all out of bed" He said before leaving. He was slightly nervous about detention tonight. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see Draco again.

"Ah. Mr. Potter" Came the girlish voice of Professor Umbridge as Harry walked into the trophy room. "How nice of you to finally join us" Harry looked at the clock. It was 8:02. Stupid toad. "You will stay an extra hour to make up for your tardiness" She said, smiling at him before leaving.

Harry didn't even notice the gray eyes watching him as he stalked to the corner to start cleaning again. He climbed the ladder and began scrubbing at some mold. This made no sense. Why couldn't they just keep these things clean with magic? "Who tied her wand in a knot?" Harry jumped at the voice being so close to his right ear. As soon as he realized how close he was to the Slytherin, his heart sped up and his hand shook. Dammit!

"I'd like to send a good curse their way" Harry muttered, clenching his fist around the rag to steady his arm. He heard Malfoy chuckle, but he didn't say anything else. Harry kept remembering the half-dream from the night before. He glanced over at the boy cleaning the trophy beside him and nearly fell as his hand slipped off the trophy. A pale hand grabbed Harry's wrist before he could fall. He steadied himself on the ladder and looked at Malfoy. "You saved me" He said, rather shocked.

"Reflex I guess" Came the reply. He was no longer looking at Harry.

Harry also turned away and began scrubbing the trophy again. Harry concentrated on the trophies he was cleaning instead of trying to look at Malfoy again. After Umbridge had checked on them twice, Harry looked over at Malfoy again. "Thanks" He muttered.

He watched Malfoy jump slightly as he spoke. "Yeah. Sure" Malfoy said, not looking at him still. Harry sighed and walked across the room to scrub a trophy as far away from the stubborn blonde as he could. Then there was movement to his left and Harry saw the boy cleaning next to him again. Was he following him? Hmm....

"Following me, Malfoy?" He asked teasingly.

"Don't you wish Potter?" Draco retorted, leaving Harry with nothing to say. He would, actually. But he couldn't say that to Draco. Harry turned back to the cleaning, avoiding the questioning look from Malfoy. Then they heard the clicking and Umbridge was back.

"Mr. Malfoy, you may leave" She handed him his wand. "Mr. Potter, you've missed a spot" She flicked her wand and a thick layer of dust appeared on the trophy Harry had just spent an hour scrubbing, leaving Harry fuming as she walked out again. He soaked his rag again and was about to start scrubbing when the dust vanished.

"What?" Harry asked, looking around in time to see Draco stuffing his wand into his pocket as he hurried out of the room. He helped me? Harry though, moving to the next trophy. Why though?

_Perhaps he feels the same about you._ Said the small voice in Harry's head. It only seemed to start talking when Harry was alone. **Then why didn't he look at me?** Harry retorted to the voice. _Maybe he's just as scared as you._ Harry froze for a moment before realizing he was arguing with himself. 'Great' he thought. 'I've officially gone mental' He sighed and continued cleaning, thinking about the DA and keeping his mind as far away from Draco as possible.

Finally an hour was up and Umbridge came back to give him his wand. He ignored everything she was saying and left to put his cleaning supplies away. He kept looking out the windows as he walked up to the tower. It had started to snow while he had been cleaning. 'About time' he thought. 'It's been a week since Thanksgiving' Then he saw a figure walking toward the lake. He stopped moving, he knew that silver blonde hair. What was Draco doing outside? He made up his mind in a moment and sprinted the rest of the way to the common room. Hermione was asleep at the desk, her hand still holding a charms book. Harry decided to wake her when he came back again. He opened the dormitory door quietly and opened his trunk. He pulled out the Marauder's map and his invisibility cloak. Once he was out of the common room again he covered himself with the cloak and muttered "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" The map appeared and Harry scanned the lake for Malfoy. There he is.

Harry sat down on a rock near Draco that gave him a clear view of his face. The look on Malfoy's features made Harry want to reach out and comfort him. He restrained by stuffing his hands into his pockets and crossing his legs. The time passed by and finally Malfoy stood up to head back inside. Harry followed him and pulled out the map again. Filch was standing right by the doors. Probably trying to see who snuck out. Harry's heart hammered as he watched Draco walking unknowingly toward the caretaker. He made up his mind and sped up so that he was next to him. "Malfoy" He hissed.

Malfoy jumped. "Potter?" He asked, squinting around. Harry stowed the map in his pocket and threw the cloak over Malfoy.

"Filch is waiting for you to come back in. He saw the door were open" Harry said quickly, moving as far away from Draco as the cloak permitted. As soon as Draco's hand had brushed Harry's a shock had run up his arm and he didn't want that happening again.

"So why are you helping me then?" Malfoy asked suspiciously. "You're not just going to get me caught are you?"

"If I was would I be here with you?" Harry challenged, choosing not to answer the first question. Luckily they were about to pass Filch so Malfoy couldn't press him. Once they were out of earshot of the caretaker, Harry took the cloak off them. "See?"

"Thanks" Malfoy said, sounding confused. "But why?" He asked again. Harry sighed and looked away from the other boy. He wasn't going to admit it to him. "Potter?"

Harry ignored him and started walking up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. He heard footsteps following him at first, but stepped into one of his shortcuts and checked the map to see Draco give up and go down to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons. "Hermione!" He shook her shoulder again.

"What?" She sat straight up, startled. "Oh. Hello Harry"

"You fell asleep doing homework again" He told her. "You've got to take it easy sometimes" He regretted syaing it at once because she drew herself up in the way that told him he was about to receive a huge lecture.

Instead, she asked "What were you doing out so late? Your note said Umbridge was only keeping you an hour extra" She glanced at the clock. "It's been 4 hours since you should have been back"

"I went for a walk" Harry said, hoping to deflect all questions. It didn't work.

"Alone? With the invisibility cloak and the map?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Please leave me alone Hermione" Harry said, looking away. He didn't want to tell anybody about Draco. To his surprise, she smiled and patted his arm, but let it drop.

"You can tell me you know, Harry. I won't tell Ron if that's what you're so scared about" She informed him as she put her books back in her bag. Harry waited until she had completely packed everything.

"I followed someone. Because I was worried about h-them" He didn't want to tell her who, but he would, at least, tell her what was going on. "Umbridge gave another student the same detention as me, and I might really like the person. But I don't think the person would like me too, but I followed them outside and that's why I came in so late"

Hermione watched him a moment. "I think you'd be surprised if you let Draco know" And then she walked away, leaving a stunned Harry behind her. How had she guessed?

_Maybe she's right. Maybe he would surprise you. _**Shut up.** _But she may be right. And then you could be with him. _**Shut UP.** _Wouldn't you like to be surprised by him?. _ **Stop it!**

Harry fell into bed 5 minutes later, trying to ignore the voice in his head. Even though it was right, he didn't want to admit it. As he drifted to sleep, he imagined holding Draco's slender fingers in his hand. Pulling him over and pressing their lips together.

He punched his pillow several times before thinking about Quidditch practice the next morning. It was Saturday tomorrow. No classes, just relaxing around the common room and then the detention in the evening. And Harry was debating on another DA meeting on Sunday. He'd ask around to see if they were free then. He'd like to see how they've improved.


	3. Chapter 3

First time I've published my work on fanfiction. I write somewhere else, and it's really different, so I don't know whether or not I'm good at writing like this. Also first time I've tried a male/male relationship. Please be nice to me.

Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

Harry woke up and saw a blurry figure standing over him. He jumped and grabbed his glasses. "Ron!"

"C'mon Harry. You've nearly slept through breakfast. And practice later" Ron said, rolling his eyes. He was getting tired of being Harry's alarm clock.

"Thanks" Harry mumbled as he got out of bed and stumbled around getting ready. He made it down to breakfast and had some toast and cereal before he was dragged down to the quidditch pitch. "Angelina!" Harry protested.

"You should have gotten up earlier if you wanted more breakfast. I told you that we had practice this morning. Let's go" She only let go when they had reached the changing rooms. Harry saw the rest of the team looking as annoyed as he was. "Alright team. Our match is in a week. We need to practice more than ever. Harry, we need you to catch the snitch as quickly as possible" And she continued her speech, Harry slipping in and out of awareness. They finally got out on the pitch and Harry found the cool air rushing around him was a much better way to wake up. Then practice started.

"Alright, lunch" Angelina called after several hours of practice. Harry had caught the snitch nearly 10 times, which seemed to make Angelina slightly more cheery. The team landed and packed the balls away before showering and going back to the great hall. Harry shook his head as he walked in, trying to get rid of the extra water in his hair and noticed he was being watched. He looked to the Slytherin table and saw the gray eyes once again. He smiled slightly and then walked down the Gryffindor table to shove as much food as he could into his mouth.

"Honestly" Hermione said as she sat between him and Ron. "Don't you boys have any table manners?" Ron and Harry tried swallowing the huge mouthfuls to answer her, but she rolled her eyes. "Harry, are we having the meeting tomorrow? You had mentioned that you were thinking about it since it was so close to the holidays"

Harry nodded and managed to swallow his food. "Yeah, I figured we should get as many in before then as possible" He sat back and pushed his plate away. "I'm going to go finish that essay for Umbridge" He saw Ron's look of disbelief. "Well I haven't exactly got time during the week with her detentions, have I?" Ron shrugged and Harry walked away.

By the time he had finished writing the 3 foot essay, it was nearly time for the detention. He made his way to the trophy room so he wouldn't give her an excuse to keep him late again. "Hello, Mr. Potter. You know what to do" She smiled at him, holding her hand out for his wand. He gave it to her and started cleaning. He heard her greet Malfoy and then leave with his wand as well.

Draco started cleaning next to him and Harry tried his best to ignore him. "Potter?" Harry looked up. "Why'd you save me from Filch last night?" Harry sighed and shook his head at Draco's determination.

"Because" Harry said, trying to make something up. "I was outside and noticed Filch waiting" That was true enough. Except that he was only outside because Malfoy had been. But he didn't need to say that part.

"What were you doing out so late?"

"What were _you_ doing out so late?" Harry countered, expecting that to be the end of the conversation.

"I always go out to the lake to think. Now, what were you doing out there?" Malfoy answered, smirking slightly.

"I.. I noticed you were out there" Harry said, looking away. Now he'd done it. Malfoy was going to be disgusted by him. Maybe even try a curse and tell Harry to stop following him everywhere.

"What does that matter to you?" Draco asked, turning away from the trophy he was cleaning. He watched as Harry's hand clenched on the rag he was cleaning with. He waited for 3 minutes before Harry turned back to him.

"I wanted to know why you were out so late. And then I saw Filch was in the entrance hall and I couldn't let you get caught" Harry said hurriedly, not making eye contact. He had his eyes glued on the rag in the other boy's hand. He was going to continue speaking when the clicking of heels echoed into the room and they both jumped to start scrubbing again.

"Excellent job, Mr. Malfoy. You may go for tonight. Mr. Potter, you will learn not to disobey by orders. You will stay another hour" She handed Draco his wand and then left. Harry watched the blonde leaving and then slumped against the wall. He had been so close to telling him. That stupid toad.

Harry had no idea how long he had been sitting there when he heard footsteps near him. He jerked out of his position and saw Draco back. "You haven't cleaned a single trophy. That old toad is going to keep you here all night" Draco rolled his eyes and waved his wand. Several trophies began sparkling and Harry helped Draco hide behind the largest.

"You may leave Mr. Potter" Came the little-girlish voice as the heels clicked around the room. She handed him his wand and left. Harry helped Draco out of his hiding place.

"Thanks" He said, confused. "Why?"

"Well, why did you save me?" Draco replied, the smallest of smiles playing around his mouth. He walked with Harry to the closet of cleaning supplies and then both boys stood there for a moment, looking at each other.

Then Harry nodded at Malfoy and walked away. He wasn't heading to the common room though. He was walking out to the lake where he had found Draco sitting last night. He was there for nearly a half hour before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, hoping to see the pale, pointed face of Draco. Instead, Hermione was smiling down at him. "Harry, what's wrong?" She asked, sitting next to him.

"I just wanted to be alone for a bit" He told her, looking back at the lake. He was watching the snow falling. There wasn't any on the ground from the night before, but the light, fluffy flakes were hypnotizing in the way they lazily drifted to he about 10 more minutes, she left him alone after hugging him. He sighed. 'Why can't I just talk to him?' He thought to himself. 'When I'm in detention it's so easy to make conversation. But as soon as we leave I get nervous. It doesn't make any sense'

Harry got up and looked around. Nobody was around. Walking closer to the water, he closed his eyes and imagined the pale Slytherin was standing in front of him. _What are you going to do now?_ The voice in his head came, teasing this time. _Going to spill your heart out to a tree?_ **How else am I supposed to know what to say to Draco?** _You're going to sound like you're reciting something. _**I will be though.**_ It's bland. Just go find him and tell him._"I can't just walk up to Draco and tell him I think I love him!" Harry's eyes snapped open. He hadn't meant to yell that. He looked around and his heart nearly stopped.

"Wh-what?" Draco had been leaning against the tree near Harry. Now he straightened up and looked curiously at Harry, his mouth slightly open in confusion. Harry was slightly distracted by a few snowflakes swirling around him and being caught by Draco's eyelashes. "You what?" He asked again.

"I..." Harry started, but he couldn't say more. He looked into the gray eyes, expecting to see disgust or horror. All he could find was confusion. He looked away from Draco, embarrassed, and looked at the ground. There was a thin layer of snow gathering around his shoes.

"Harry?" Harry's head snapped up at the use of his first name. Draco was standing directly in front of him. "Do you really?" He asked quietly. Harry's heart jumped into his throat and he couldn't speak. He nodded, watching Draco's face carefully. Neither boy spoke again for several minutes.

"Do... do you?" Harry finally asked. His question seemed to confuse Draco, who stayed silent. He looked at the raven-haired Gryffindor in front of him, watching the snowflakes fall into his hair and onto his glasses. Harry was about to turn and walk away so that Draco wouldn't see the tears in his eyes when the blonde finally opened his mouth.

"I.. I don't know. I think I might" He replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Is that why you saved me from Filch?"

Harry nodded. "And me from Umbridge?" He asked. Draco nodded slowly. "Well, what does this mean then?" He asked, hoping that the Slytherin would want it to mean something.

"Could it mean we're a... couple?" Draco asked, his voice hardly loud enough for Harry to hear.

"Do you want to be then?" Harry asked cautiously, not wanting to push him too far. He knew that this was probably completely new for Draco. Harry had known that he was not interested in girls since last year. As far as he knew, Draco never showed any interest toward other boys. He wouldn't want to push the blonde too much and scare him away. He noticed Draco hesitate. "We don't have to tell people yet" He said, trying not to get his hopes too far up.

Draco looked confused still, so Harry stayed quiet, hoping his face didn't show how nervous he was. "People don't have to know?" He asked, watching Harry, who shook his head. "And you don't mind that?" Harry shook his head again. Draco took a deep breath and then a small smile curled his lips up. "Then yes."

Harry beamed at him and pulled Draco to sit next to him. _See? that wasn't so hard. _**Please go away.** "What were you thinking about last night when you came here?" Harry asked, running his thumb along the back of Draco's hand.

"You, I suppose. This is... new to me" He admitted, glancing at Harry from the corner of his eye. "I've never liked boys. It's only you that effected me"

"Effected you how?" Harry wondered. And for how long? He held his tongue, though. He could wait for that one. But Draco shook his head slightly. Harry figured he could wait to ask him again. Then he felt Malfoy shiver and looked over, surprised. "You're not wearing winter things" He said.

"Wasn't thinking I guess" Draco replied, tucking his legs up under him. "I just wanted to see if you were out here. After Umbridge came in, well I didn't really get the chance to talk to you much. She hates you"

"She tried getting me expelled. I cast a patronus to save my cousin and I had the whole hearing. She was real eager to get me expelled and have my wand snapped" Harry said, sliding over to Draco to try to keep him warm. "She keeps trying now" He added, thinking about how much Umbridge tried to get him angry enough to act out.

"She hasn't got anything on you, has she?"

"No" Harry said, thinking of the DA. "She'll never find out about it unless someone tells her." A light was thrown over the grounds and Harry spun to see the entrance halls open. He reached under his robes for his Invisibility cloak. He took it everywhere now. "Quick, under here" He threw it over Draco and himself, pulling Draco even closer to ensure they were completely covered.

They watched as Filch walked twice around the lake with his lamp. He came within a foot of them the second time and Harry stopped breathing, afraid of making too much noise. "We should go back before we're caught" Draco said, standing up after Filch had gone back in. Harry reluctantly agreed and they went to their separate common rooms. Harry found himself impatient for the next day to end, so he could get to that detention.


	4. Chapter 4

First time I've published my work on fanfiction. I write somewhere else, and it's really different, so I don't know whether or not I'm good at writing like this. Also first time I've tried a male/male relationship. Please be nice to me.

Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

Ron went down to the great hall to find Harry already eating breakfast. "You actually woke up. On the day you don't have to."

"Well, if we're going to have a meeting, I should be awake for it, don't you think?" Harry asked, making up the easiest excuse. And that would be his excuse for why he was so happy if Ron decided to ask. Which he wouldn't; he's not very observant like that.

Harry glanced at the Slytherin table and caught Draco's eyes. He noticed a small smile on his lips as he gestured to the hall and then got up and left. Harry waited a few minutes before telling Ron and Hermione that he had to go to the bathroom and hurried out after hi,. He had no idea where Draco would have gone, so once he made it outside he stopped. Then he saw the silver blonde hair disappearing out into the snow covered grounds. He followed him until they were standing under the tree by the lake.

"Draco?" Harry asked tentatively, pulling his cloak tighter around him. "Did you want something?" He waited a while before Malfoy turned to him. The snow was caught in his hair, eyelashes and covering his shoulders.

"I just... I just wanted out of there" He replied, sitting down on their rock. Harry sat next to him and put his arm around Draco's shoulders. The blonde turned slightly and then rested his head on Harry's shoulder. "Thanks for coming" He whispered. Harry squeezed Draco's shoulders slightly and kissed the top of his head, smiling when he noticed that Draco didn't mind.

"Of course I came. Otherwise you might have frozen to death" Harry said, glaring at the snow in Draco's hair. "I didn't know you liked the cold so much."

"I only started coming out here when Pansy and Blaise got intolerable. I needed to get away from them, but the common room always had people in it. I don't mind the cold much. It's just a little uncomfortable" He shivered slightly as he said that and Harry knew that the cold bothered him very much.

"I know a place you can go to be alone. Without turning into an ice cube" Harry said, taking Draco's hand and pulling him to his feet. "C'mon. I'll show you" He led Draco inside and through several shortcuts before coming to a stop in front of a stretch of wall. 'I need a place for Draco to stay. I need a place for Draco to stay. I need a place for Draco to stay' Three times he walked by and then heard Draco's gasp. He opened his eyes and then pulled the new door open. "Isn't this better than the snow?" Harry asked, leading Draco to a large sofa in front of a crackling fire.

"How?" Malfoy asked, staring around as Harry pulled him down to sit next to him.

"My secret" Harry said, much to Draco's annoyance. "But I'll bring you here whenever you need to be alone, or just away from.. other people" Harry continued, pulling Draco closer. The pale blonde curled his feet under him as he rested his head on Harry's chest. Harry put his arm around him and sighed. Draco seemed so timid when he was away from the other Slytherins. He needed protection from everyone.

"Harry?" Draco had just woken up from a terrible nightmare where he had been alone in the Forbidden Forest. He ran and ran to find the way out, constantly seeing Harry's eyes just out of reach. When he finally found the raven-haired boy, it was only to hear him say that he could never love such a stupid Slytherin. He jerked awake to find himself curled around a pillow instead of Harry and his heart had begun hammering. What if Harry really thought that? "Harry??" He asked again, panic ebbing into his voice.

"I'm here Draco. Shh" Harry sat back down next to him and put his arm protectively around the shaking boy. "What happened?" He saw the fear in Draco's eyes and understood. "It was just a bad dream, love. Whatever it was. It's not real. You're awake now, yeah? And I'm right here for you" He pressed his hand against Draco's face and ran his thumb over his cheek. It took nearly 10 minutes to fully calm Draco down.

"Sorry" Draco muttered, looking away. Harry smiled and pulled Draco over so that he was nearly in Harry's lap. He wrapped both arms around the blonde, who relaxed instantly and nuzzled his face into Harry's shoulder. Then a pounding came from the door and they both jumped. Harry checked his watch.

"DAMMIT!" He yelled. "It's time for the meeting. They can't see you here! They'll ask questions." He looked frantically around and then grabbed his invisibility cloak to throw over his scared looking boyfriend. "Don't worry, I'll come find you eventually. I'll need that cloak back." He opened the door and the pair of them slid outside. Draco slipped past the group of students to hurry somewhere else, Harry assumed. "Sorry. I was doing something." He walked three times down the hall, asking for the DA meeting room. Everyone walked in. "Okay. Let's start where we left off last time so I can see how you were all doing. Then I'll decide if you're all ready for something new" He watched as they eagerly went to their areas and then started walking around, correcting speech and wand movements.

"Harry! Harry! I did it! I cast a shield charm!" Harry looked around to see Neville being hugged by Luna. His face was absolutely radiating with joy and the entire room burst into applause for him. Harry walked over, also beaming, as the pairs began practicing again.

"It was a really strong one" Luna said as soon as Harry was within earshot. "My body bind curse bounced right off it and hit Dean" Harry looked over to see Seamus helping Dean out of the curse.

"That's excellent Neville! You're really improving" Harry said, turning back to them. Neville's face, if possible, glowed even more. After practicing it a few more times, Neville looked like his birthday had come early. Harry walked around a few times before walking back to the front of the room and blowing his whistle. "Everyone's improving so much. I think we should just do a run through of all the spells we've learned so far" He waved his wand and a list appeared on the black board in the front of the room. they all started practicing. The meeting lasted nearly the whole day.

"Good evening Mr. Potter" Umbridge said as Harry walked into the trophy room. He handed her his wand and walked over to a corner to start cleaning without looking at her. "Ah. Mr. Malfoy. I believe you've learned your lesson. There's no need for you to keep coming to detention" She smiled sweetly at him. Harry was watching out of the corner of his eye and saw Draco hesitate before nodding and leaving. "You on the other hand, Mr. Potter. You don't seem to be learning anything. I'll have to stay and make sure you work"

Harry ground his teeth together. Leave it to the toad to take the one pleasant thing about this detention away. He ignored her until he heard a familiar voice mutter "Obliviate!" Harry's head spun around to see Draco taking off the invisibility cloak.

"Mr. Malfoy? What are you doing here?" Umbridge asked as her eyes drifted in and out of focus.

"You told me to come and make sure Potter cleaned every last trophy in here. You said you needed sleep, Professor" Draco lied smoothly. Umbridge nodded and left. Harry beamed at Draco. "You said you wanted this back?" He asked, gray eyes twinkling, as he handed the cloak back. "Oh and I suppose this will help too?" He handed Harry his wand.

"How'd you get it away from the toad?" Harry asked, stunned.

"Not that hard to sneak stuff away from her when she has no idea what's going on" He replied, shrugging. He waved his wand and all the trophies were suddenly sparkling clean. "You seem to have finished detention early"

Harry smiled and hugged Draco. "You're a life saver. I thought I was going to go all night here"

"Not that you aren't used to detentions" Draco replied, smirking slightly. "You spend so much time getting in trouble. Maybe if you tried behaving once in a while?"

"Now do you really want me to change who I am Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked while pulling Draco closer. He felt him shake his head no and smiled slightly. "Is Umbridge going to come back to check that I'm working?" Another head shake. "Then should we go somewhere else?" Draco nodded and they started walking away from the trophy room. They forgot it wasn't as late as it usually was after their detentions.

"Draco?!" A girl's voice nearly shrieked as Harry and Draco walked up a staircase. Harry let go of Draco's hand as they both turned to see who was there. "What is going ON here?"

"Pansy! I can explain" Draco said hurriedly.

"Explain why you were just holding hands with Potter? Gone soft have you? I always knew you were a sissy!" Her laughter echoed down the halls. Draco was frozen with horror. "Just wait until I tell Blaise!" She turned and ran off, still shrieking with laughter.

"Draco?" Harry asked, reaching out to him. Then he saw the tear sliding down his cheek. "Draco... don't listen to her" He said, worried that Pansy's reaction would scare Draco back into his shell. He put his hand on Draco's shoulder and then gasped as the boy collapsed into Harry's arms.

"What am I going to do now? She;s going to tell Blaise and they're going to tell everyone. They'll never let me back into the Slytherin rooms anymore." His voice was panicked and all Harry could do was hold him up and try to shush him. He kept telling Draco that it was alright, that he didn't have to worry. But harry didn't know if that was true. The Slytherins were known for their scheming plots to ruin lives. "I can't go back now Harry. I can't go there and see them. They'll do something dreadful, I just know it"

"Harry?" A new voice came down the hallway. Harry looked up from Draco reluctantly to see Hermione walking over. "What happened?" She asked, concern filling her eyes.

"Pansy saw us walking together, holding hands. She's gone off to tell Slytherin house now" Harry explained. Hermione's face darkened.

"Oh, Draco, ignore her. She can't do anything to you" Hermione said, crouching down to their level. "You can just tell the headmaster if they try anything. He'll put a stop to it"

"Yeah. She's right Draco. We could go to Dumbledore. I won't let them hurt you. I promise" Draco seemed to be calming down slightly.

"But they'll do it anyway. I know they will. I can't go back to Slytherin, Harry" He looked up into Harry's face, seeking comfort in the face he loved so much.

"C'mon. I'll bring you to the room of requirement" Harry said, pulling Draco to his feet. "You can stay there until this bows over, okay?" He looked at Hermione for help who pulled Draco's other arm around her shoulders and helping him up the stairs. He seemed to have lost the will to walk.

"Are you going to stay with him?" She asked as the finally reached the corridor. Harry nodded and began walking past the spot where the door was hiding. "What should I tell Ron? And everyone else?"

Harry looked at Draco before whispering back. "Tell them the truth. I'll need as many people on our side as possible if it comes down to a fight with the Slytherins." Hermione nodded before walking out. "Draco?" Harry walked over to him and pulled him onto the bed that the room had provided. "You need sleep"

Draco nodded and slid under the covers. Harry got in the other side and put his arm around Draco, hoping the blonde wouldn't mind. He didn't. Draco turned to face Harry and tucked his face into Harry's shoulder. Harry adjusted slightly to make sure Draco was comfortable, then he kissed his cheek. "Goodnight Draco"

"'Night Harry" Draco said back, turning his head to kiss Harry lightly on the lips before hiding in his shoulder again. Harry smiled into Draco's hair. If this all blew over quickly enough, at least Draco seemed to be growing used to them being together. As long as Draco didn't get hurt, maybe the whole school finding out might not be as bad as it seemed. Harry made a mental promise to protect Draco from the Slytherins even more now. He still hadn't figured out how to do it when they were apart, but he would do anything for the blonde now sleeping in his arms. If anyone hurt him, they'd be answering to Harry. With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.

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Hi everyone. I just wanted to say thanks for everyone who favorited my story and added me to their alerts. I was pretty scared my story wasn't going to be that great. Because it's my first time writing here. And thanks to the people who've already reviewed it for me. I'm so happy that you liked it enough to do that for me.


	5. Chapter 5

First time I've published my work on fanfiction. I write somewhere else, and it's really different, so I don't know whether or not I'm good at writing like this. Also first time I've tried a male/male relationship. Please be nice to me.

Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

Draco woke the next morning and was confused as to why he wasn't in his dormitory. Then he remembered the night before. He turned over to see Harry watching him with a smile on his face. "What time is it?"

Harry looked at his watch. "Just about to be breakfast. Want to go down? Or should I bring you some?" He stood up and went to the wardrobe that had robes for both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Harry pulled on the Gryffindor robes and then brought the Slytherin ones to Draco. "There's a bathroom back that way if you want to shower" He added. "I'll be right back with food"

Draco smiled as Harry left. He hadn't even had to respond and Harry had known that he didn't want to be down there. He stood up and walked back to the bathroom. He turned the water on and stepped in. About 5 minutes later he heard the door open again. "Draco?"

"In the shower" He called back. He finished and threw on his shirt and sweats he was going to wear under his robes today. It was cold. He walked out with his hair still wet and saw Harry sitting in front of a table with enough food for 5 people. "You don't expect me to eat all of that, do you?"

"Well some is for me." Draco smiled and sat down opposite the smiling boy. "And, my friends agreed to help me. I hope you don't mind. But since the Slytherins know, I told my friends in the other houses and they agreed to make them back off" He sounded scared that Draco would be mad.

Draco thought about this for a second. In one night their relationship had gone from completely secret to having nearly the whole school know. "They won't stop just because a few people are protecting me" He said finally, deciding that he didn't mind people knowing as much as he thought he would. "It's not like Slytherins to just give up"

"I know" Harry said with a sigh. "But we can do our best, can't we?" Draco nodded and they finished their breakfast in silence. "That's the bell. Ready for Potions?"

"That's what we have first?" Draco asked, his spirits rising slightly. He wouldn't have to be separate from Harry just yet.

"Yeah. I think it's actually double Potions" Harry said, smiling. "Where are you going to sit?" He watched as the blonde thought this through. Draco could sit with Harry and show that he wasn't scared to be seen with him. Or he could sit with the Slytherins and prove he wasn't scared of what they could do, even though he was. But they wouldn't try anything in front of Snape. He wanted to show them that he wasn't going to hide, but he didn't want to be apart from Harry now that they were so close.

"Is there room at your table?" He asked, noticing that Harry's smile grew to an impossible size as he did so. Harry nodded and Draco stood up. "Then I'd like to sit there. But I have to finish getting ready..." He walked away to start applying products to his hair, but noticed that the Gryffindor had started following him.

"You should try wearing it without product." He said, pulling a brush out of a cabinet. He started pulling it through Draco's hair, smiling as the blonde's eyes closed. "I like how it looks like this" He ran his fingers through it, smiling at the softness of it.

"Maybe just this once" Draco said, opening his eyes. Then he put his robes on. "We shouldn't be late. Snape may not punish me, but I don't think he likes you very much" He smirked slightly and opened the door. "After you" Harry walked past him and then held his hand out, hope in his eyes. Draco hesitated for the tiniest millisecond before twining their fingers together.

"Harry!" Dean came running to them with Seamus following him. "Hermione's just told us!"

"Congratulations!" Seamus added, hugging them both. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" He asked, glaring at Harry.

"Sorry Seamus. We weren't ready to tell people yet..." Harry said, glancing at Draco. "Hermione told you about the Slytherins?" They both nodded.

"Any excuse to practice our jinxes!" Seamus laughed. "Oh come on Dean" He added as Dean crossed his arms. "You know you want to curse a few Slytherins" He wrapped his arm around Dean, giving him a puppy dog look. Harry and Draco chuckled as Dean sighed and gave in. They walked together to potions, ignoring the yells that followed them down the hallway. Draco's hand was trembling in Harry's. He wanted to pull it away so Harry wouldn't know how scared he was, but Harry squeezed his hand a little and gave him a reassuring smile.

Harry pulled Draco to sit next to him as the Slytherins all turned and started jeering. "Ignore them Draco" Harry muttered, running his thumb across the back of Draco's hand. "Just ignore them" Draco nodded stiffly and turned to unpack his supplies.

"Ditching us for a _boy"_ Pansy shrieked across the room. "Acting as if we all didn't suspect!"

"Always knew he was a sissy!" Blaise agreed, wrapping his arms around Pansy. "See Malfoy? This is natural" He pulled her face up and kissed her.

"He's just a freak of nature! Just like Thomas and Finnegan!" Millicent added. The Slytherins all started laughing as Draco turned his head away from them. Harry was the only one who could see his face. It was twisted with anger. "Is poor little Draco crying now? Little baby Draco, turn to your boy toy to cry"

Harry's hand clenched on his wand. "Shut up" He said, standing. In a swift moment, half the Gryffindors had their wands out and pointed at the Slytherins. The Slytherins all reacted, pulling their wands out to point back. None of them heard the doors open. "Don't you dare talk about Draco like that"

"Touched a nerve, sissy boy?" Pansy cackled, waving her wand. A jet of orange light shot at Harry.

"No!" Draco had jumped in front of it and was now writhing in agony on the ground. '"DRACO!" Harry collapsed next to him, throwing his wand aside and pulling him over. There was blood pouring out of Draco's face, but Harry saw no cuts. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?" He bellowed at Pansy, snatching his wand back up and pointing it at her face.

"Mr. Potter, please assist me in taking Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing. Miss Parkinson, you will accompany me" The entire class turned to see Snape striding across the room. Harry helped him lift Draco and they ran from the room, Pansy following after them looking terrified. "Poppy!" Snape yelled as they burst into the hospital wing.

"What is it Sev-- OH my!" Madame Pomfrey hurried Draco to a bed and began muttering spells under her breath. Harry watched as the blood slowed its flow out of the boy's face. He reached over and took Draco's hand as Madame Pomfrey bustled away, muttering about blood-replenishing potions.

"Miss Parkinson" Snape began.

"Potter and Malfoy provoked me professor!" She cried. "It was self defense professor, I swear!"

Harry turned angrily toward her, but Snape spoke in a deadly whisper. "I was watching the scene unfold, Miss Parkinson. Would you like to revise your story?" Pansy stuttered for a minute before turning crimson and looking at the floor. "50 points from Slytherin. And detention with me every weekend until the end of the year. You are dismissed" She turned and scampered out of the hospital wing. Harry was no longer looking at Snape. He was kneeling next to Draco's bed, whispering to him, telling him everything would be okay. "Mr. Potter"

"Yes sir?" He asked, reluctantly tearing his gaze from Draco to look at his professor.

"I will be sending an owl to Lucius about what happened in my classroom today." He noticed the look of sheer panic on Harry's face. "And I will also speak to Lucius beforehand about your relationship with his son." Harry couldn't believe his ears. Was Snape on his side? "I believe that if Draco is happy, Lucius will eventually come around."

Harry's mouth fell open. "Thank- thank you professor" He managed to say before turning back to Draco, who was now sleeping after drinking several potions from Madame Pomfrey. "Did you hear that Draco? Professor Snape is going to talk to your father for us. He's going to make all this easier. You know what this means Draco? You don't have to be afraid anymore. Nobody's going to hurt you again. I swear it. On my life, nobody will ever harm you again"

Severus watched as the raven haired Gryffindor whispered condolences to his godson. A small smile turned the corners of his mouth up. If Harry had still been looking, he would have thought it was a trick of the light. Snape smiling? Never.

"Harry!" A hand shook Harry's shoulder and he jerked awake. He was still in the hospital wing. Someone had moved him so he was laying next to Draco. Ron was standing over him.

"Ron?" Harry asked in disbelief. Ron hadn't been very accepting of him and Draco, Hermione had told him earlier when she had come to check on Draco. The flowers she had conjured were still sitting on the bedside table.

"Harry... I-I'm sorry. I was shocked, you know..." Ron started, shuffling his feet awkwardly. Harry could tell that he had no idea what to say.

"Ron, forget about it." He said suddenly. He didn't need Ron to apologize. They grinned at each other. Then Draco stirred and Harry's attention was instantly on him. He wrapped his right arm around him and started running his left hand through Draco's hair. "It's alright Draco. Go back to sleep" He whispered, kissing Draco's hair.

Draco smiled slightly and then hid his face in Harry's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Harry and hugged him like a teddy bear. Ron left to give them alone time. Harry kissed Draco's cheek as the blonde fell asleep. _Good thing you got detention_. Came the small voice that had remained silent since he and Draco got together. He silently agreed. That detention was the best thing that ever happened to him. Now he had the boy of his dreams in his arms. Snape approved of their relationship and was going to talk to Draco's father. No Slytherins would dare hurt Draco again, not with Snape on Harry and Draco's side. And all of his friends were happy for him.

**Thank god for detention with Draco.** He said smugly to the voice. Everything had turned out just fine. He fell asleep, thinking about the time he had with Draco ahead. The rest of the year was definitely looking up for Harry.

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I hope you liked my story! Sorry about the ending... I'm pretty bad at closers. But... how do you think I did on my first fanfic? Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it, and I hope you'll read my future stories as well!

~Regina~


	6. Epilogue

I was just going to leave this as it was because they had gotten together, but I keep thinking about better ways I could have ended it, so I decided to do an epilogue.

Disclaimer: Characters, unless not recognized, belong to J.K. Rowling.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

Harry knocked three times on the door and nervously straightened his robes. His hand had just moved up to try and make his hair lie flat when the door was pulled open.

Draco smiled at Harry and stood aside to let him in. "Relax" He whispered as the Gryffindor passed him. "Stop fidgeting" Harry gave a weak smile. Draco took his hand and led him into the dining room. The table was set for four, and two of the seats were already occupied. "Mother, Father" Draco said. "This is Harry" They, of course, already knew Harry.

"Hello" Harry said nervously. It had taken Draco several weeks to convince Harry to come to dinner. As far as Harry knew, neither of Draco's parents had been too angry with the relationship, but he was still scared of them.

"Please, sit" Narcissa said, pointing to the seat next to her. "And we shall begin dinner" Draco pushed Harry forward to take the seat. After several minutes of awkward silence, a house elf came in to place food on the table. "So, when did you realize you loved my son?" Mrs. Malfoy asked Harry.

After a glance at Draco, Harry looked up at Narcissa. "About a month ago. We both had detention from Professor Umbridge." He explained.

Draco's mother then looked at her son. "And when did you realize you loved him back?" She asked. Harry noticed that Draco's father was looking stony faced.

"Actually, about a year ago" Draco admitted. "But I was too scared to say anything, so I tried to pretend that I didn't. I thought that Harry wouldn't like me back because I was a Slytherin. I was, of course, also scared of the reaction I would get from you and father" Mr. Malfoy threw his napkin on the table and left the room.

"I'll just be a minute" Mrs. Malfoy said before following her husband.

"He doesn't approve, does he?" Harry asked Draco quietly. Draco looked at his plate and didn't answer. "Because it's me? Or because I'm a boy?"

"I think he doesn't approve of you" Draco whispered. "But mother has been talking him around these last few weeks. Snape began telling them that I was dating a boy, and father accepted that. Once he told them that the boy was you, father got angry."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but a furious yelling came from the kitchen. "I will not have that boy in my house, Narcissa!"

"I will not have you criticizing my son this way! He may date whomever he wants!" She shouted back.

"Our son is not going to be the one to disgrace the name of Malfoy! He will marry a respectable woman and have a son to carry on the family name! And if he disobeys me, he will never set foot in this house again!"

A door slamming told the boys that Lucius had left the room. After a few moments, Narcissa walked back into the room and looked sadly at her son, and then at Harry. "I apologize for my husband's behavior, but I do feel it would be best for you to leave."

"Mother!" Draco protested.

"Not for good, Draco only until your father calms down."

Harry got up before Draco could protest again. He walked to the door with Draco following him. "What if he doesn't calm down, Harry? I don't want to be forced into an arranged marriage." He was whispering so his parents wouldn't hear him.

"I don't want to be the reason you have a falling out with your family." Harry said, trying to hide his pain. He didn't want to let Draco go either.

"Ha-harry?" Draco grabbed his hand before the other boy could walk away. "Please don't leave me." Harry looked and saw tears in the blonde's eyes. He was shocked; Draco was never so open with his emotions. "I'm scared" He whispered.

Harry took Draco's hand and looked straight into his eyes. "Me too, Dray" He whispered back, pulling Draco into a hug. "But I swear it'll all work out. I'm not letting you go." Harry kissed Draco fiercely before walking out the door.  
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Someone was knocking furiously on the door. "Get the door Harry!" Vernon Dursley shouted at his nephew. Harry got up from the table and walked to the door that was still being pounded on.

"Draco!?" Harry exclaimed as he opened the door and the blonde fell into his arms. "How did you find the house?" Then he saw the tears and no longer cared. "Draco what happened?" He demanded.

"F-father" Draco choked out. "He told me to g-get out and never come b-back"

"Who's at the door?" Harry's uncle barked down the hallway.

"My boyfriend!" Harry screamed back before pulling Draco up the stairs. He locked his door so his Uncle couldn't come in and ignored the furious pounding and shouting to let him in. "Dray…" Harry said, pulling Draco into his arms again.

"Father… father told me that I had to choose between my family and you." He choked out. "Mother yelled that I didn't have to choose, and he threw her out of the room. He threatened he would beat me if I kept dating you and when I told him he couldn't make me stop being with you he told me that if I ever came back, he'd kill me!"

Harry was stunned. Silence fell between them, unless you counted the banging the door and Uncle Vernon's shouting to open the damn door and let him in. "Draco… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cause all of this." Harry said.

Then there was a knock on the door and Harry ran to the window. Narcissa Malfoy was standing on the doorstep. The pounding on Harry's bedroom door stopped as Vernon went to answer the door. "It's you mom. I'll be right back." Harry said before dashing down the stairs. "Mrs. Malfoy!" He called past his uncle.

"Harry" She pushed past Uncle Vernon. "Is Draco here?" Harry nodded and she followed him upstairs. "Draco!" She yelled when Harry opened the door. She ran across the room to pull her son into her arms. Harry stood back, waiting to see what she would say. Was she here to convince Draco to go home?

"Mother" Draco finally said, leaning away from her. "I'm not leaving Harry. Whatever father says."

"I know" She replied. "And I'm afraid I was unable to convince him to accept that. I've spoken to Severus. He will allow you to stay there if you wish" She glanced at Harry. "Although you are allowed to stay wherever you like." She added.

Draco looked at Harry, and then at his mother again. "Is there no way to talk him around?" Harry asked. He was worried about Draco. Mrs. Malfoy shook her head. He then left the room to leave Draco and his mother alone together.  
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Harry knocked on the door and stood back, waiting. A house elf answered the door. "Is Mr. Malfoy in?" Harry asked.

"Wait right here, sir" The house elf squeaked, leading him into the hall. After a minute, the elf returned with Lucius Malfoy following him.

"What are you doing in my house?" He snarled at Harry.

"I'm here about your son" Harry said firmly. "And I'm not leaving until you hear me out."  
-------------------

"Dray?" Harry pushed his bedroom door open. "Your father is here to see you." He stood aside and allowed Lucius Malfoy to walk to his wife and son. Uncle Vernon stood in the doorway, watching with disdain.

"I may have reacted harshly in light of the situation. You are, of course, allowed to continue living at our house." Silence followed these words. Draco looked from his mother to his father. Then his eyes fell on Harry, who was grinning smugly as Mr. Malfoy turned and walked downstairs.

"What did you do Harry?" Draco asked, shocked.

"I just talked to him" Harry responded, walking over to sit next to him. He put his arm around Draco.

"Thank you." He whispered, hiding his face in Harry's shoulder. Harry turned and kissed the top of Draco's blonde head. They sat there for a while and then Draco lifted his head to whisper even quieter, "I love you."

Harry was shocked for a moment; neither had said those words before. "I love you to Dray" Harry whispered back, leaning over to kiss the boy. "I love you forever." He added after the kiss was broken.

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15 years later

"And do you, Draco Malfoy, take Harry James Potter to be your husband…"

Draco looked over at Harry. "I do." He said, joy filling the pair of them with those two words.

"I can now announce you legally married." Harry pulled Draco to him and kissed him. Draco slid his hands around Harry's neck and pulled him even closer. There were some coughs from the crowd and they finally broke apart.

"I love you" They both whispered. They looked out at the crowd and saw Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Weasly in the front row crying. Then the music began. Harry led Draco to the dance floor and they began dancing. The multi colored balloons above them burst, revealing thousands of differently colored birds. They flew around the two dancing figures.

Their guests flooded the dance floor after the first song. It was the best night of their lives. After the last people left, Harry and Draco walked to their new house and looked out the window across the sea. It stretched forever. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and the blonde leaned back. Draco turned around in Harry's arms to wrap his arms around the raven haired boy's neck. Harry leaned down and kissed him just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~HP~DM~

Okay, I hope you liked this story. I know it's still pretty short, but it just seemed unfinished to me. I'm hoping that you guys liked the epilogue… and the rest of the story xD. So, what do you think? Was this a better end than the one I had had before? I hope so…


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